From 'Lake of Death' to Clavius, Korea searches moon for 2032 landing sites

Korea is on the hunt for a new real estate market on the moon, with its nascent space agency, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), zeroing in on some of the lunar landscape's most challenging locales. During a recent academic conference, KASA unveiled a shortlist of potential landing sites for two lunar-bound missions slated for 2032.

The agency is evaluating 20 candidate zones for its primary lunar lander and nine for a test probe that will perform a soft landing, marking a significant pivot towards human exploration ambitions for a country that has historically lagged behind in deep-space endeavors.

Instead of confining their efforts to the lunar south pole, a hotspot for NASA's Artemis program and other competing missions in search of lunar water ice, Korean researchers are casting a wider net and considering a more diverse set of locations. The proposed candidate list includes ancient impact basins, rugged basaltic plains, and deep pit craters that may conceal hidden underground lava tubes.

Among the most promising targets for the preliminary test mission in early 2032 is Lacus Mortis, or the "Lake of Death," a rugged plain peppered with depressions that scientists believe may harbor collapsed lava tubes.